MCME Valentine!
Find yourself a special someone!
Find yourself a special someone!
Editor's Note by Soarz
Welcome back to another lovely edition of the MCME Times. The new year has been a delight for MCME and for many it’s a fresh start. I hope everyone is doing awesome, and I'm happy to present to you the first February edition. Let me know down in the comments how you are doing. With that said, sit back and grab that cup of Yorkshire Tea, and let's dive into this week's edition of the MCME Times.
~ Project Progress ~
Anorien - Lead: @draonic_slayer | In Progress
Report by draonic_slayer
Progress on Anorien has slowed down over the past weeks, with the main bulk of work being completed in the past weeks, and the last few details slowly getting ironed out on the Rammas Echor. Xmine has finally gotten around to finishing the smaller marsh by the causeway. With the release of the Gondor snapshot 3.1, we have received an alpha version of the branch system that will be used for trees in Anorien. There have been a few exciting concepts made for this already, and they do look quite promising.
Lond Daer – Lead: @mattlego | In Progress
Report by mattlego
The Lond Daer Palace Contest has now begun! That contest will run for about another 6 weeks (until 21-03-21) and then it will be judged. A lot of progress has been done in New Town thanks to the help of so many, and hopefully most of the houses there can be finished by the end of the contest. A lot more plots will be coming soon so stay tuned on discord for more information regarding that.
Moria – Lead: @barteldvn | In progress
Report by Soarz
Progress has also slowed down deep in the mines of Moria. Other than some small updates in Movie Cave, Moria has been letting off the gas for the weeks, but that won’t last forever.
~ General Announcements ~
Become a Donor
Keeping MCME running is not free- every month we have to pay $265 to keep up all our work. Donations help us keep doing what we love and providing you with amazing builds to look at. Donations are not required but greatly accepted, if you want to help us in our feat of rebuilding Middle Earth in Minecraft you can donate here.
Viewing Donation Drive: Community Costs
Our Donors
- junoknight
- mapthor
- Llfaen99
- Dagon3
- TheFro2
- ConfusedLlama
- Wodleth
- Blitzkrieger246
- Thamso
- TruckasurusRex
~ Rank Updates ~
Report by SoarzIru: The man, the myth, the legend - he returns, this time as a Manager for MCME. He will be taking on many tasks- if you haven’t already, give him a pat on the back. Good luck in all your works, and don’t let the Staff get to you!
Promotion
Shen: He is no stranger to the world of MCME- he was once a Guide and so he becomes one once more. We shall watch your career with great interest, I look forward to all the fun times ahead!
Promotion
HyprNinja: You’ve been a Commoner for far too long, and I think it’s about time we bring you into the ranks. This shade of blue is better anyways, so make sure to use it wisely and good luck in your future projects!
Promotion
Mershy: He's good at building, texturing, videoing, rocket league, and now moderating. Hopefully you wont have to ban anyone anytime soon, and i hope you make yourself welcome. UwU
Promotion
givet10: With a new clean color he will be on the prowl and looking to keep the server a safe place. With screenshots like yours evidence will start to be looking top notch! Good luck in your future career dear friend!!
Promotion
~ Interviews ~
Interview with @_Luk
1. What is the origin story of your username?
Back when I first got Minecraft I used to share the account with my brother, so it used to be called KlemensPlusLukas- some of you might remember it. When Mojang introduced username changing and I was the only one really using the account, I changed it to more reflect my actual name. The _ is really just there to annoy everyone trying to teleport to me.
2. Best bit about being a designer and why?
Probably the phase before a project properly starts and you have all these ideas flying around. The discussions trying to figure out the path the project should take are really fun, although finishing a project is quite nice as well.
3. Reform the Staff Team (Remove, add, shuffle current Team around)
Truth be told, the current situation within Building Staff is really good at the moment. Regarding the other departments, I will not comment without having consulted with my lawyer.
4. Got any real life hobbies?
Hard time for hobbies during lockdown, but I've been getting into workouts since about a year ago, and have been going quite strong ever since. Although, going to the Gym is sadly not possible at the moment, and the home gym has to suffice.
5. If you could be any race from Middle Earth, what would it be and why?
Probably a Hobbit, they seem to be chill.
6. If the Team Members had a fight. Who would win and how?
Clearly the Builders, since we are superior and the only meaningful group on the server who actually does something.
7. Funniest thing that's happened to you on the server?
It's hard to pinpoint this one moment. There were countless fun nights in Teamspeak or Discord, or meeting up with the boyz in Utrecht. Talking about stuff happening on the actual MC server, it might be the griefing of Edhellond, simply because I still have screenshots of it.
8. What is your dream build?
A finished Lond Daer, followed closely on second place by a revamped Linhir.
Interviewer: Archimdes and mapthor
~ Commoner News ~
Bonjour Commoners of the world and those who hold ranks beyond. Your favorite news source has returned. Now please take a seat, a cup of tea and a biscuit and we will go over all that happened in the Commoner Projects.
Bonjour Commoners of the world and those who hold ranks beyond. Your favorite news source has returned. Now please take a seat, a cup of tea and a biscuit and we will go over all that happened in the Commoner Projects.
Current Projects:
Commoner Room: While construction and decoration of the Common Room has been slow but steady, the Commoner City has been filling up nicely. Though all this work has been done a lot still needs to happen, so if you want to help contact Icarus197, Jadened and Christopher1.
BoM: Progress has been great for this project. The hill still has to be done, but the top of it is being filled. The great houses are being added, the planning is being done and in a build day the wall was finished for the largest part. Even the rampart leading up to the city has been partly constructed. But even here work is still waiting for those who want, so contact Melkor_Belegurth or TheStephen if you want to help, or wander over (do /warp Gondolin_BoM) and start building in a plot.
The Vault: Sadly the Vault project has slowed down and nearly halted. We are waiting for the project leaders to pick it up, but meanwhile you can still contact ConfusedLlama_, Bean327, johnyeric, Nelman_Black or givet10.
The Cartography project: In the past months we have welcomed a new project, namely the Cartography project. They map the locations in the mainworld and organize the speedrunning on the server. With a redecoration of their office in the Common Room, they are ready to take on more. If this sparks your interest, contact Haldir_123.
Rank Changes:
In the months since we spoke there have been some changes to the ranks of the Common Room. Firstly EffieFrag left the Scribe position to fill up a gap in the Artist ranks. Her position of Scribe was taken by her assistant Rudolphius, who was replaced as assistant by HoverKing. We have also had to say goodbye to Assistant Diplomat MonsterDuck, whose office is still vacant. Also, the Assistant Architect role has been taken on by a second person, namely Christopher1, who will assist the Architect together with Jadened.
Message for Applicants
The Commoner Community wishes you good luck with your badge, Artist and Guide applications!
~ Winners of “The Week” ~
This week we have another round of amazing builds and media posts. We only choose from the best every time, so hard work does pay off. Sometimes it can get competitive and that is what will win a place here. Please give a warm welcome to this Times, winners of this week.
MEDIA Winners:
Welcome back to the Media Winners, the part of the MCME Times where you get to see me not pick your favorite screenshot as the Media Winner! Yes sir, hope you've gotten used to it at this point 'cause this edition of the Media Winners is probably no exception! Let's dive right in!
Honorable Mention: Decent composition, though I would've liked to see more sky and less ground. Bit too contrast-y for my liking, too. The odd desaturated and shadowed terrain makes me expect to see an overcast and perhaps stormy sky, but instead we see a light blue sky with a few clouds scattered throughout. Rather odd. Shot by Givet, edited by Mershy.
Honorable Mention: Nice to see a good Moria shot every now and then. Not much I can say about this, though. Good composition, toning, sharp image... Just about everything's in order.
Honorable Mention: Are you tired? Do you need a small wagon to carry your bucket and hay-bale? Well Givet has you covered! The Super Wagon 3000 is the latest in Givet's deluxe line of wheeled workers! It's able to take 20% more weight and the air conditioning unit add-on (not included) keeps heat-sensitive items cool! So what are you waiting for? Order now!
Honorable Mention: Mithrilled tried some interesting editing, replacing the Espen's Edit sky with a more Kappa-like sky. Interesting as that is, though, the rest of the shot isn't too interesting with its very desaturated tone and simple lighting. I feel the camera was too close to the water with this shot too, could've been a bit higher up and looking a hair lower. Excellent composition beyond that.
Honorable Mention: Ah yes, one of the video thumbnail candidates that didn't make the final cut. I do rather like the composition of this shot. The lighting's a bit boring on the terrain on the right, but I find my eyes more focused on the left side and on Johny there. Shot by Givet.
Honorable Mention: This nice mountain shot by Itai looks great, though I wish it "popped" a bit more, maybe by raising the exposure slightly. The composition and angle are great. Nice to have those trees in the foreground. Makes all mountain shots better.
Honorable Mention: Yes, a Dol Amroth shot. Thought there'd only be mountains this edition? Think again. This shot makes nice use of blur (though the leaves on the left are rather wonky) and has a decent composition. Feel like it could've been looking a bit higher and the tall grass gets a bit too high up in the shot for my liking. About all I'll say about it, though.
Honorable Mention: Excellent composition, though I'm not too big a fan of the tone. The blur helps distract the eyes from the flat lighting on the trees and draws the attention to the main focus: the settlement. Shot by Givet, edited by Mershy.
Honorable Mention: Givet took a sunset shot that wasn't using Voyager this fortnight. The composition's good, but perhaps could be improved by having the valley a bit more to the right.
Honorable Mention: This is what happens when you leave Saruman to his devices: atomic bombs dropped on the already ruined ruins of Osgiliath. Itai has somehow made it so that looking at the Dome of the Stars literally stings my eyes. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but the composition and lighting of this shot are very cool.
Media Winner: Credoo took some time to get a few mountainous shots a couple days back and Givet decided to take advantage of this by editing one or two of them. Needless to say, though, they have done a good job on this shot. The white sky, the reflecting stream, the foggy valley, etc all go together very well. I feel like the lack of closer mountains on the far right of the shot is a tiny bit distracting, though, but that's all I can say against it. Well done, Credoo and Givet!
Honorable Mention: Nice to see a good Moria shot every now and then. Not much I can say about this, though. Good composition, toning, sharp image... Just about everything's in order.
Honorable Mention: Are you tired? Do you need a small wagon to carry your bucket and hay-bale? Well Givet has you covered! The Super Wagon 3000 is the latest in Givet's deluxe line of wheeled workers! It's able to take 20% more weight and the air conditioning unit add-on (not included) keeps heat-sensitive items cool! So what are you waiting for? Order now!
Honorable Mention: Mithrilled tried some interesting editing, replacing the Espen's Edit sky with a more Kappa-like sky. Interesting as that is, though, the rest of the shot isn't too interesting with its very desaturated tone and simple lighting. I feel the camera was too close to the water with this shot too, could've been a bit higher up and looking a hair lower. Excellent composition beyond that.
Honorable Mention: Ah yes, one of the video thumbnail candidates that didn't make the final cut. I do rather like the composition of this shot. The lighting's a bit boring on the terrain on the right, but I find my eyes more focused on the left side and on Johny there. Shot by Givet.
Honorable Mention: This nice mountain shot by Itai looks great, though I wish it "popped" a bit more, maybe by raising the exposure slightly. The composition and angle are great. Nice to have those trees in the foreground. Makes all mountain shots better.
Honorable Mention: Yes, a Dol Amroth shot. Thought there'd only be mountains this edition? Think again. This shot makes nice use of blur (though the leaves on the left are rather wonky) and has a decent composition. Feel like it could've been looking a bit higher and the tall grass gets a bit too high up in the shot for my liking. About all I'll say about it, though.
Honorable Mention: Excellent composition, though I'm not too big a fan of the tone. The blur helps distract the eyes from the flat lighting on the trees and draws the attention to the main focus: the settlement. Shot by Givet, edited by Mershy.
Honorable Mention: Givet took a sunset shot that wasn't using Voyager this fortnight. The composition's good, but perhaps could be improved by having the valley a bit more to the right.
Honorable Mention: This is what happens when you leave Saruman to his devices: atomic bombs dropped on the already ruined ruins of Osgiliath. Itai has somehow made it so that looking at the Dome of the Stars literally stings my eyes. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but the composition and lighting of this shot are very cool.
Media Winner: Credoo took some time to get a few mountainous shots a couple days back and Givet decided to take advantage of this by editing one or two of them. Needless to say, though, they have done a good job on this shot. The white sky, the reflecting stream, the foggy valley, etc all go together very well. I feel like the lack of closer mountains on the far right of the shot is a tiny bit distracting, though, but that's all I can say against it. Well done, Credoo and Givet!
THEME-BUILD Winners
In this edition we have some very nice builds for inspiration for Harlond! Congratulations on the winners!
~ Lore of the Week ~
Dagor Dagorath:The Last Battle, also known as the Second Prophecy of Mandos, but probably best known as the Dagor Dagorath (Sindarin, "Battle of all Battles"), is an apocalyptic event prophesied by Mandos. According to Christopher Tolkien, the Dagor Dagorath as a Prophecy of Mandos was abandoned by Tolkien.
In the published Silmarillion, the Dagor Dagorath is only mentioned as the Last Battle on three occasions:
...and that he declared to their Fathers of old that Ilúvatar will hallow them [the Dwarves] and give them a place among the Children in the end. Then their part shall be to serve Aulë and to aid him in the remaking of Arda after the Last Battle.
—Quenta Silmarillion, "Of Aulë and Yavanna"
...Many other of the ancient stars she gathered together and set as signs in the heavens of Arda: [...] and Menelmacar with his shining belt, that forebodes the Last Battle that shall be at the end of days.
—Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
But Ar-Pharazôn the King and the mortal warriors that had set foot upon the land of Aman were buried under falling hills: there it is said that they lie imprisoned in the Caves of the Forgotten, until the Last Battle and the Day of Doom.
—Akallabêth
There is also an isolated mention that links the "End" with Fëanor and the Silmarils, which is the main topic in the other versions explained below:
But not until the End, when Fëanor shall return [...]; not until the Sun passes and the Moon falls, shall it be known of what substance [the Silmarils] were made.
—Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor"
No other information about the End of the World is given in The Silmarillion except the few mentions of the Second Music of the Ainur, which can be deduced as to be sung after the Battle. The only mention of the Dagor Dagorath by name is given in a note concerning the origin of Gandalf:
Manwë will not descend from the Mountain until the Dagor Dagorath, and the coming of the End, when Melkor returns.
—Unfinished Tales, "The Istari"
From all this information it can be deduced that Arda will come to an end with a last battle against Morgoth. After the Battle, Arda will be rebuilt, the "lands that lie under the wave will be lifted up again" and a new world will begin with the Song of Ainur and Men before Ilúvatar.
Many previous manuscripts of the Quenta Silmarillion close with Mandos describing the Battle in a prophecy, which is called the Second Prophecy of Mandos (the first being the Prophecy of the North), but Christopher deliberately omitted it for his edition. This decision was due to a passage of the later Quenta Silmarillion, which states that
if any change shall come and the Marring [of Arda] be amended, Manwë and Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is not declared in the dooms of Mandos.
~ Question of the Week ~
This Week's Question:
Who was Olorin the chief student of?
Question:
What was the name of Turin of Dor-Lomin’s Sword?
Correct Answer:
Originally Anglachel, it was reforged and renamed Gurthang by Turin.
What was the name of Turin of Dor-Lomin’s Sword?
Correct Answer:
Originally Anglachel, it was reforged and renamed Gurthang by Turin.
This week's winner is Mithrilled! Congrats!
Presented by: Arothir Alamareo
~ More Media ~
You know us, we love sharing our progress and Twitter is the perfect place. Give us a good follow and always have something to look forward to on your daily scroll. Just to spice it up, comment your favorite parts of our builds at
MinecraftMiddleEarth (@MCMiddleEarth) | Twitter . You won't be disappointed!
Sometimes you just want to enjoy some quality pictures, we got you covered. Head on over to our Facebook account, try following us there too Minecraft Middle-Earth
It doesn't matter if you just woke up or after a busy day at work; scrolling through Instagram and seeing a cool project you have worked on, or just amazing graphics from your favorite server on your favorite game. MCME's Instagram is the right place to be. Check it out at mcmiddleearth on Instagram, or this perfectly good link to take you straight there.
But of course, the most important and obviously most used social network is of course Planet Minecraft! Be sure to give us a diamond there. It costs nothing! Minecraft Middle Earth Minecraft Server
~ Closing Statement ~
As life becomes more of a priority for many, progress has slowed, but this won’t last forever. Just remember to do what you enjoy and don't work yourself too hard, burnout can happen faster than you think. Thank you for tuning in to this edition of the MCME Times, and don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!
Great job for the Times Team, who did what they had to do, great job!
Quote from JRRT
“I thought all the trees were whispering to each other, passing news and plots along in an unintelligible language; and the branches swayed and groped without any wind. They do say the trees do actually move, and can surround strangers and hem them.”
The Official MCME Times
mcmiddleearth.com
As life becomes more of a priority for many, progress has slowed, but this won’t last forever. Just remember to do what you enjoy and don't work yourself too hard, burnout can happen faster than you think. Thank you for tuning in to this edition of the MCME Times, and don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!
Great job for the Times Team, who did what they had to do, great job!
Quote from JRRT
“I thought all the trees were whispering to each other, passing news and plots along in an unintelligible language; and the branches swayed and groped without any wind. They do say the trees do actually move, and can surround strangers and hem them.”
The Official MCME Times
mcmiddleearth.com
